The Wow Factor

To the SE of Christ church is Banks Peninsula. We drove round the hills and New Zealand must be the only country in the world where you're driving along marvelling at the scenery and then you see a sign for the "scenic route". Banks Peninsula is the most astounding place we've ever visited. It's as if they've ticked off a checklist for a beautiful landscape: "snowcapped mountains; check, rolling green hills; check, brooks, streams and rivers; check, wildlife; check, clear blue bays; check".

"I think we need something more though, I know let's have turquoise oceans on both sides and the first European settlers should be French so that the village in Akaroa is chic too".

The pictures don't do it justice, we needed Hutch or Rich with us to take some decent photos. We spent the whole day just driving round, stopping and taking in the views and the atmosphere.

Max and Paddy

We've hired a campervan to tour New Zealand, staying on various camspites as we travel around the countryside. It's bringing back lovely memories of our time in France when we first met. When we arrived at Christchurch airport there was amessage for us to report to "Lost Luggage". Luckily it was only my bag that had been diverted to Auckland and there wasn't anything in there that I needed just clean clothes and toiletries. It was delivered to the campsite the next day to my annoyance, I didn't have any excuse now.

We stayed in Christchurch for 2 nights and it lived up to its name of a garden city. The botanic gardens (our 3rd in 2 weeks!) really reminded us of an English country garden. Here's Bec under an enormous tree and a view that resembles a Constable painting.

70% of researchers who travel to the Antartic leave from Christchurch airport and so they have a fascinating Antartic centre there where you're taken on vehicles that are used in the South Pole, are subjected to Antartic conditions (pic of me in the wind chill room) - I should have worn socks that day, it was a bit nippy in there - and given a guided tour by the voice of Sir Edmund Hilary.

Mint condition

After finally finding a place that had a webcam in Perth we saw Noah and had a long chat with Neil, Helene and mum. Noah didn't say much but he looked lovely all the same!

We spent our last day in Perth wondering around the botanic gardens, where we could have spent all day, and then visiting the Perth mint. We watched a gold bar being poured, saw some Sydney Olympics medals and learnt about the mining history of Western Australia. There was a diary of a miner from the 1850s who described the harsh conditions of walking 600kms from Perth to the mines and the scarcity of water, at one point water was worth more than gold. He told a tale of not washing himself and doing the dishes in a teaspoon of water. It struck a chord with me!

Another Aussie wedding

When we arrived in Perth, Tony told us he was hosting a wedding at the weekend at his house for his son's (Phil) girlfriend's sister. Here are the happy couple Marie and Dave signing the marriage certificate in Tony and Pat's back garden.

It was great catching up with Phil and meeting his girlfriend Tracey (here's them dancing with Pat on backing vocals). I went to see Phil's Sunday footie team the next day and heard all the regional accents - scouse, geordie, manc and cockney, I think there may have even been an Aussie playing!

Here's our wonderful hosts after a lovely Italian meal, we had a great time staying with them and they made us feel very welcome. Thanks.

Round and about Perth

It's lovely to be staying with Gav's uncle Tony and Pat, they've made us very welcome and it's lovely to have homecooking and home comforts again. They've got a beautiful house with a swimming pool and views over the city. We've hired a car so that we can get out an about. We spent 3 days down in a place called Margaret River, SW of Perth near where the Indian ocean meets the Southern ocean. I had a cold so I drove Gav around the various vinyards tasting wine. We finished up at a brewery where a naked Aussie was running round the lake and doing press ups in the rain.

I climbed up a giant tree called the diamond tree (52m). It's used as a look out post for bush fires. Gav only got 30 steps up when his palms got clammy and he had to come down. The wildlife in the forest and on the beaches is so tame, even the wild birds and kangaroos let you get really close.

The bottom picture is of me outside freemantle prison. It's a fascinating place. It was built in 1849 and only closed in 1991. The original convicts had to build it for themselves, quarrying the bricks out of the cliffs. Some of the first convicts were given 10 years for stealing things like 1 leg of ham and a few loaves.

Ozzie Culture

Although we only want to talk about Noah and see him, I suppose we'd better carry on with the blog too.(!)

We've been in Australia about 10 days now and hardly anyone here in Perth has bothered going to Darwin but we had a great time there and the first thing we noticed were the huge open spaces after coming from Kuta. As we landed after the flight from Bali we also learnt about the thwarted attempts to take liquid nitrogen on board flights to the US.

We arrived at Darwin during the opening weekend of their Arts festival and before we knew it we'd had 3 fine examples of Australian culture. The obnoxious guy at customs "Why bother going to Asia?", the bride at her wedding (the reception was being held at a bar we found) who finished her v short speech with the charming words "Let's getting f%#!ing p!ssed" and the marginalised Aborigines getting hammered in the Bicentennial Park (now there's irony for you).

The festival itself was very enjoyable and we had a great time strolling around the Botanical gardens show. I was a tad annoyed to find out I'd missed the talks on lawns (not being sarccy at all - I still look at the video footage on my mobile of my beautiful lawn) and safe chainsaw use! I loved the Northern Territory Uni stall with the totally outdoor house concept (3rd pic). In the evening we went to see an Aboriginal band, a Sudanese singer who now lives in Melbourne and a ska/punk/country band (that's how they were billed and they were a great mix who got the crowd moshing and dancing).

Despite only having 2 days in Darwin we also managed to fit in a visit to a casino, suggested by Bec, where I wore my swimming shorts (classy, I know) a far cry from Um being asked to tuck his shirt in or leave in Napoleons in Sheffield! A swim and sunset at the beach, a trip around a gallery showing diverse art ranging from cyanometric scenes to Indigenous paintings. They inspired me to take an arty shot of my shadow on the beach (complete with love handles). We also learnt that some Aborigine tribes in Northern Australia believe there are 6 seasons there, Bec has started to believe there are only 2 parts of the day - afternoon and evenings!

Noah James Owen

Wonderful, wonderful news. My handsome nephew, Noah James Owen, was born on 16th August at 10:40pm and weighed 8lbs. Bec and I are pleased as punch but now that's both Sean and Noah who've been born on the opposite side of the world from where we are.

Before I'd seen the pics I asked Neil who he looked like. He said that him and Helene had been gazing at Noah in his cot and both turned to each other and said "He looks like Gavin." The lucky, lucky little boy!

The exhausting birth hasn't made Helene any less sociable and she's had lots of visitors at the hospital. Hopefully Noah and her will be home later today (Fri). We both send our love x

Thanks Kidda for soting this out for us. Much appreciated.

Goodbye to South East Asia

People have asked us for our route so here it is with our highlights and lowlights so far:

Thailand: Bangkok to Chiang Mai overnight train.
Laos: Huay Xai - Luang Prabang - Vang Vieng - Vientiane
Back to Bangkok(to meet Wils)
Cambodia: Siem Reap - Phnom Penh - Sihanoukville
Back to Thailand: Koh Samui and Koh Pahnang
Malaysia: Penang - Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
Hong Kong
Bali: Benoa and finally Kuta

Favourite Meal - Gav: Vientiane hot plate and noodle soup Bec: Penang street curry
Best journey - Slow boat to Luang Prabang. Hon mention G:Vientiane to Bangkok with overnight train (1st class) to Bangkok B: 36hr journey from Sihanoukville to Koh Samui
Favourite Place Both: Luang Prabang
Won't be hurrying back: G: Koh Samui B: Cambodia
Can't wait to go back: G: Indonesia in general B: Bali
Best Activity: G: Swimming inwaterfall B: Batik/Surfing
Best bargain: G: Lobsters (langoustines really) 6 for one US dollar in Sihanoukville. B:Beer in Siem Reap 25 US cents for a glass.
Ridiculous Transport moment: G: pigs as fellow passengers on slow boat to Luang Prabang B: Taxi driver stopping at Cambodia/Thai border and letting another bloke set next to him in the driver's seat.
Best beer: Both: Beerlao
Scariest Moment: G: Monkeys at Angkor Wat B: Both of us cadging a lift from local on Koh Samui
Best bar/cafe: G: L'etranger (Luang Prabang) B: Blue Pumpkin (Siem Reap)
Scenery: both: Mekong river
Best Atmosphere: G: Chiang Mai and Kuta beach B: Chiang Mai
Favourite photos: see above G: Luang Prabang B: me eating in Penang

Next Up...
Australia: Darwin and Perth (staying with Gavin's uncle Tony and Pat) until
New Zealand: Christchurch to Auckland (hiring a camper van)
Chile: short visit
Ecquador: 4 weeks in a language school in Quito
Peru: 2 months, inca trail, Cusco (Christmas and new year here)
Bolivia: Doing a bus trip
Argentina: Bus trip in the north
Brazil: Rio Carneval - Feb
Argentina: Buenos Aries
Home: March/April

Tick follows tock

We were both disappointed to leave our honeymoon hotel but once we arrived in Kuta and went down to the beach the waves washed our blues away. The surf and waves are spectacular - the kind you see on Guinness and Old Spice adverts, where surfers ride underneath the top of the waves as the foam swishes horizontally along above them. The current is so strong at times that we've seen people knocked over in ankle deep water. One minute your standing on sand and the next the water is above your waist.

We thought we'd try a bit of that and booked a morning's lessons with a "stand up by the end of the lesson or your next lesson free" surf school, fully expecting to have our next lesson free. However, as you can see we were both better than we imagined. As ever I managed to find the camera, a lady 80 metres away on the beach!

The sunsets here in Kuta bring hundreds to the beach to watch the sun go down as games of volleyball, football and frisby spring up from nowhere around 6 o'clock. We've had a few relaxing beers watching the sun go down. Perfect.

Bali Bliss

We've decided to take a holiday from our travelling. We wanted to return to Bali on our big trip because we came here on our honeymoon and had a wonderful time. As we'd saved a bit of money in Thailand and Laos we decided to treat ourselves to a week of luxary here, and booked into the hotel we stayed at 6 years ago - All inclusive!! We even managed to wangle a free airport pick up out of them. It was really nice having someone waiting for us when we arrived for a change.

It was fantastic, they really welcomed us back. There were flowers and fresh fruit in the room. And the room was amazing. And as you can imagine Gav and I made the most of the all inclusive package. Here's some pics from around the hotel (we didn't step outside the whole week). I think Gav would have slept at the swim up bar if they/I'd let him.

Gav wouldn't let me put the close up pic of him at the pool bar on - he thought his man boobs would offend. Sorry about my swimsuit shot.

"Boards don't fight back"

I'll have to have words with my editorial team. The pictures of the terrapins was so that I could make a lame joke about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but Bec's gone and spoiled that now.

So, we arrived in Hong Kong after Rachel Lomas (ex Sheff Uni) had snubbed us and then when she'd thought up a good enough excuse emailed me and pretended she couldn't meet up with us as she'd been in Madagascar for 3 weeks. Luckily Wils (Tesco), Sarah (NAS) and Um had all been to Hong Kong fairly recently and given us a few hints. I agree, Um, the airport is well set out, and we couldn't have afforded to stay where you stayed, thanks(!)

We treated ourselves in Singapore and Hong Kong - I bought a Sunday Times at the airport for 8 quid and Bec bought herself some perfume in Hong Kong. Everyone will be pleased to hear that I also bought more underwear in Kuala Lumpur, it should need washing by next week!

I'd read in one of the local papers in Cambodia (written in English) that there was a Bruce Lee exhibition in Hong Kong and I was hoping that it was still on by the time we reached there and luckily it was. Just to explain the title of the entry to everyone apart from Neil and dad: it's a quote from a Bruce Lee film when some martial arts experts try to impress his character by elaborately smashing lots of pieces of wood. Cool as a frozen cucumber he stands there unpeturbed and deadpans "Boards don't fight back." But as the film is dubbed his lips carry on moving for another 3 seconds. Neil and me used to say it to each other all the time. By now there's probably only Neil and dad reading anyway!

The view of Hong Kong island was fantastic and I was excited about seeing it as we used to go, from when we were young, to a Chinese restaurant in Altrincham (The Chinese Lantern) and they had a picture of Hong Kong at night. It always fascinated me seeing all those lights and it was even better being there - especially with all the Bruce Lee stuff.

We also experienced our own real life psychometric testing in Hong Kong. The lift in our guest house broke down on the way to our floor and there was another bloke in with us. The way we dealt with it sums us both up I thought. Here are 4 options and each of us in the lift chose one with 1 thrown in for luck:

a) Become hysterical and scream until someone hears you
b) Think "Oh well, at least we've got the iPod and someone will come eventually."
c) Keep pressing the bell and help buttons repeatedly
d) Realise that we're at the floor we want, prise open the doors and exit lift

That's right I opted for b) while Bec actually did something about it and chose d)!

Hong Kong Phooey

After an unexpected overnight stay in Singapore we finally arrived in Hong Kong at about 10pm. For most of our trip so far, the Lonley Planet South East Asia on a shoe-string book has been our bible, (except in Penang where it was useless). But it doesn't include China so we had to go freestyle to get our bearings and find cheap accomodation. That would have been fine if we'd arrived at 10am like we thought we were going to, but at night it was more of a problem. We'd copied down directions to an area we'd found on the net that seemed to have some budget guest houses, but we just got lost. In the end after lugging our backpacks arround for a while in the swealtering heat without seeing a single hotel or guest house (or tourist) we gave up and found a big expensive looking hotel, but they were full. They pointed us in the direction of another small, "chic" hotel that was hidden in an office block. Anyway we blew the budget and spent 60 quid on a very strange padded cell without a window with a very short bed. There wasn't even a door key the hotel staff let you in and out like prison guards.

We found a cheaper place the next day but still no window.

We found HK expensive but completely different to anywhere else we'd been. A strange mix of chaos and order. The harbour front is an amazing sight, we were there at dusk for the free light show they put on. The ferry between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island was nice as there was a bit of a breeze and it felt like a bit of a Hong Kong institution as did the skinny double decker trams that run accross the Island. We went to some of the street markets, there's a pic of the baby turtles at the fish market, you could buy all sorts of strange creatures. And we managed to get Gav another pair of swimming trunk to replace the pair he lost in Penang.

I'll let Gav tell you about his love affair with Bruce Lee ...